Do you think this is reasonable?

jrey1981

Would be interested in your thoughts on this matter.

I have paid half the fee for a company - I dont want to mention them on here - to design a blog, which I thought was going to be fairly distinct and original.

However, I recently began using Wordpress for another blog I am setting up, and I was surprised to discover that the template for the blog I have paid to have designed is a standard Wordpress one.

The company have tinkered with a few things as regards colour and layout and uploaded a header/masthead, but that is about it. They have also been very slow to work on it - it is roughly a month since I initiated the project.

I am not happy with this and not happy to pay the full fee I have been quoted, for what I could mostly have done myself.

Any thoughts appreciated as to what the best recourse is...

The trouble is that if I get on the wrong side of them, then the design might be further delayed, so I am unsure what to do.

flogen

Well you could point the fact out to them; let them know that you know they're ripping off other people's work (are they crediting the original designer?) and that they are failing to follow the design brief you gave them.

Raise the point that if any plagarism is discovered the site owner will be in trouble, not the designer and you're unwilling to take that risk; be polite about it and simply state that you're concerned, but be firm enough to make it clear that you're not happy with the work so far (it isn't what you asked or paid for).

There's no point in worrying about the design being delayed further, even if it's on time it won't be what you asked for and for anyone with the right webdesign knowledge it shouldn't really take that long (not to say it's a really simple job either) but you're paying someone who is designing more for their knowledge, expertise and artistic ability rather than the manhours they put into it.

jrey1981

Thanks for the advice - I meant to say that the template they have used is just one of the free standard Wordpress ones. Have edited the above now.

I guess all I can do is point it out and say I am unhappy. Trouble is I have paid half the fee already, so they might keep it.

flogen

That's true; legally I'm not sure where you stand; depends on what you/they signed if anything.

Obviously they're not following the brief to make something original; I guess they should have the cop on to realise that you can bad mouth them online if they do a crap job, although I wouldn't threaten them with that as it would just get their backs up; if they refuse to change what they're doing or refund you the money and all else has failed you should name them and point out the work they didn't do for you and how much they demanded for it.

jrey1981

Did not sign anything and according to my bank statements, they have not actually taken the payment from my Laser card....so it looks like I am ok for the moment from that angle.

flogen

In that case I'd ensure that they cannot take money from your account until you resolve this; even if that means emptying your account out or telling the bank to block it etc.
If you haven't signed anything then they could claim they've done their job etc., at the same time you're as protected as they are and you never agreed to anything either.
Obviously it's best to avoid any messy or nasty situations but you want to make sure you can't get ripped off or sold inferior work

jrey1981

well the guy I am dealing with from the company claims to have taken my thoughts on board and says "the designers are working on a new concept"

I am still a bit unhappy with the length of time this has taken though. As a result, I have recruited two volunteer freelancers - a web/blog designer and a graphic designer to come up with a logo/masthead, both of whom seem keen and experienced - to work on my other pro-bono blog project

If it goes pear-shaped with the above company, I might offer them a paid gig each for my writing blog if my wallet can stretch to it.

jrey1981

Just an update on this to see if anyone has any thoughts.

Having chased the design co. a few times by email - phone calls never got anywhere - I have given a deadline of Wednesday next week and said I will be writing to the MD / CEO to register my complaint.

Their customer service is basically non-existent.

They attempted to charge me €240 for what was basically a template that was on Wordpress for free.

They have taken months to make the tiniest bit of progress with anything.

It has also been pointed out to me that their other products/services are on the ridiculous side of expensive.

I am tempted to name and shame them, but I dont really want to get into that. If anyone is curious, you can pm me.